Metrology Advances Step Up To Sub-2nm Device Node Needs


Metrology and inspection are dealing with a slew of issues tied to 3D measurements, buried defects, and higher sensitivity as device features continue to shrink to 2nm and below. This is made even more challenging due to increasing pressure to ramp new processes more quickly. Metrology tool suppliers must exceed current needs by a process node or two to ensure solutions are ready to meet tig... » read more

New Challenges In IC Reliability


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss reliability of chips, how it is changing, and where the new challenges are, with Steve Pateras, vice president of marketing and business development at Synopsys; Noam Brousard, vice president of solutions engineering at proteanTecs; Harry Foster, chief verification scientist at Siemens EDA; and Jerome Toublanc, high-tech soluti... » read more

Signals In The Noise: Tackling High-Frequency IC Test


The need for high-frequency semiconductor devices is surging, fueled by growing demand for advanced telecommunications, faster sensors, and increasingly autonomous vehicles. The advent of millimeter-wave communication in 5G and 6G is pushing manufacturers to develop chips capable of handling frequencies that were once considered out of reach. However, while these technologies promise faster ... » read more

Security Concerns Weigh Down Open-Source EDA


Open-source EDA tools are free, readily available, and growing in numbers, but many chipmakers are wary of using them due to security concerns. On the plus side, proponents say these tools can help attract fresh new talent to chip design. Yet despite their spread online — GitHub alone has more than 140 EDA-specific repositories — using visible source code can provide new avenues of attac... » read more

Challenges In Reducing Wireless Latency


A new and much faster version of Wi-Fi is beginning to infiltrate the IoT market, reducing latency that has begun to creep up as more data is generated, processed, and moved wirelessly from one device to another. An estimated 20 billion connected devices are currently in use. Over the next several years, devices will start to include faster wireless connectivity, enabling more rapid transfer... » read more

Managing Legacy In Automotive


Experts At The Table: The automotive ecosystem is in the midst of an intense evolution as OEMs and tiered providers grapple with how to deal with legacy technology while incorporating ever-increasing levels of autonomy, electrification, software defined vehicle concepts, just to name a few. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss these and other related issues with Wayne Lyons, senior dir... » read more

The Cost Of EDA Data Storage And Processing Efficiency


Engineering teams are turning to the cloud to process and store increasing amounts of EDA data, but while the compute resources in hyperscale data centers are virtually unlimited, the move can add costs, slow access to data, and raise new concerns about sustainability. For complex chip designs, the elasticity of the cloud is a huge bonus. With advanced-node chips and packaging, the amount of... » read more

Government Chip Funding Spreads Globally


This is the first in a series of articles tracking government chip investments. See part two for Americas-focused funding and part three for the UK and EMEA, and part four for Asia. Countries around the world are ramping up investments into their semiconductor industries as part of new or existing approaches. The increased government activity stems from growing awareness of the strategic imp... » read more

Preparing For Ferroelectric Devices


The discovery of ferroelectricity in materials that are compatible with integrated circuit manufacturing has sparked a wave of interest in ferroelectric devices. Ferroelectrics are materials with a permanent polarization, the direction of which can be switched by an applied field. This polarization can be used to raise or lower the threshold voltage of a transistor, as in FeFETs, or it can c... » read more

Barriers To Chiplet Sockets


Experts At The Table: Demand for chiplets is growing, but debate continues about whether standards and general-purpose chiplets will kick-start the commercialization boom, or whether success will come through customization of those chiplets. Semiconductor Engineeering sat down to discuss these and other related issues with Elad Alon, CEO of Blue Cheetah; Mark Kuemerle, vice president of technol... » read more

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